COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Brimming With Confidence, Kansas Upsets No. 4 Colorado : Big Eight: Williams passes for 299 yards to lead Jayhawks to 40-24 victory.

With two weeks to prepare for No. 4 Colorado, Kansas discovered not only a superb game plan but a surge of confidence.

“We knew we would win, so it wasn’t an upset,” quarterback Mark Williams said after riddling Colorado’s defense for 299 yards passing in a 40-24 victory on Saturday. “We really didn’t think of ourselves as underdogs.”

Coach Glen Mason agreed. “It’s only an upset if you think you’re a lesser team,” he said. “I told our kids we were going to win it.”

The No. 24 Jayhawks converted two fourth-quarter turnovers into touchdowns to end a 10-game losing streak to the Buffaloes.

June Henley ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the Big Eight opener for the Jayhawks, who are 5-0 overall for the first time since 1968.

Besides the two late turnovers, Colorado, 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big Eight, had a blocked punt returned for a touchdown and squandered a scoring opportunity early in the third quarter when Herchell Troutman fumbled into the end zone and Kansas recovered.

“We knew they had better athletes,” said Kansas wide receiver Isaac Byrd, “but it comes down to who plays best for three hours.”

Williams, a junior college transfer who spent last season as a backup to Asheiki Preston, completed 25 of 35 passes. Williams is from Concord, Calif., and played for Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill before transferring to Kansas.

“Williams was really on,” Colorado Coach Rick Neuheisel said. “He hit everything he threw, it seemed like.”

Kansas came into the game with a passing attack ranked only 80th in the nation, averaging 169.5 yards per game, but Williams was effective, throwing to an assortment of receivers. Running back June Henley caught six passes for 87 yards and finished with 243 all-purpose yards.

The Jayhawks went ahead, 9-0, in the first five minutes, getting a field goal and then a blocked punt by Spencer Bonner, with Manolito Jones running 31 yards with the ball for a touchdown.

Two touchdown passes from John Hessler put Colorado ahead, 14-9, but Kansas battled back for a 23-17 halftime lead.

The Buffaloes went ahead for the last time, 24-23, on Hessler’s 23-yard pass to Troutman with 9:38 left in the third quarter.

Jeff McCord’s 31-yard field goal put Kansas ahead, 26-24, late in the quarter. On the second play of the final quarter, Colorado’s Phil Savoy caught a pass but fumbled when hit by linebacker Jason Thoren, and Patrick Brown returned it five yards to the Colorado 43. Henley broke loose on the next play and scored, giving Kansas a 33-24 lead.

Moments later, safety Freddie Hammonds picked off a Koy Detmer pass and returned it 27 yards to the Colorado 34. Williams passed seven yards to Isaac Byrd for a clinching score with 9:27 left.

Detmer played parts of both halves with a brace to support a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He left the game twice after re-injuring the knee, and is scheduled to have surgery this week, ending his season.